Ground anchor inserting device



J. M. DUNSTON 3,149,682

GROUND ANCHOR INSERTING DEVICE S Sheets-Sheet 1 Sept. 22, 1964 Filed Oct. 2, 1962 INVENTOR JAMES M. DUNSTON ATTORNEYS p 1964 J. M. DUNSTON 3,149,682

GROUND ANCHOR INSERTING DEVICE Filed Oct. 2, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG?) INVENTOR JAMES M. DUNSTON BY X/%( ZZ kg ATTORNEYS P 1964 J. M. DUNSTON 3,149,682

GROUND ANCHOR INSERTING DEVICE Filed Oct. 2, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG4 . INVENTOR JAMES M. DUNSTON E; ATTORNEYS United States Patent 0.

3,149,682 GROUND ANCHGR INSERTING DEVICE James M. Dunston, Natich, Mass, assignor tothe United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army Filed Oct. 2, 1962, Ser. No. 227,952 9 Claims. (Cl. 173123) (Granted under Title 35, US. Code (1952), see. 266) The invention described herein, if patented, may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes, without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

My invention relates to a device for inserting anchors in the ground and more specifically to such a device which utilizes the weight of a vehicle to force the anchor into the ground.

The present invention differs from my prior ground anchor inserting device which is the subject matter of application Serial No. 140,145, filed September 22, 1961, now Patent No. 3,127,150, by repeatedly lifting and dropping a portion of the weight of the vehicle to force the anchor into the ground.

Until the development of my aforesaid invention, it had been the practice to insert arrow head type ground anchors to provide suitable hold downs for tents and the like by utilizing a drive rod and a sledge hammer. This method has been unsatisfactory because of the physical exertion necessary to insert the anchor to the correct depth (24" to 30") and the length of time required.

It is therefore an object of my invention to provide a device for inserting ground anchors in the ground which will require a minimum amount of time and physical effort.

Another object of my invention is to provide a device for inserting ground anchors which utilize the weight of a vehicle to force the anchor into the ground.

An additional object of my invention is to provide a device for inserting ground anchors which repeatedly lifts and drops a portion of the weight of a vehicle to force the anchor into the ground.

A further object of my invention is to furnish a device for inserting ground anchors which after inserting the anchor and the drive rod in the earth can retrieve the drive rod.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent during the course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this application, and in which like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same-.-

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of my invention attached to the bumper of a vehicle;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 2-2 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken on line 3-3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view taken on line 44 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary front elevational view of my invention;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the drive screw, drive rod and ground anchor;

FIGURE 7 is a top plan view of the driven gear, and

FIGURE 8 is a sectional view taken on line ,8-8 of FIGURE 7.

In the drawings wherein for the purpose of illustration is shown a preferred embodiment of my invention, the numeral 11! indicates a moving assembly which comprises a housing 11 for the drive gear 12 and the drive shaft 1 3, and for the driven gear 14 which meshes with the drive gear 12. The drive shaft terminates ina square head 15 which receives a standard ratchet wrench 16. The driven 3,149,682 Patented Sept. 22, 1964 ice gear 14 has a centrally disposed threaded bore 1'7 through which the screw 18 extends. A threaded socket 19 is provided at the lower end of the screw 18. The screw is further characterized by a longitudinal keyway 20.

A drive rod 21 is threaded at its upper end in the socket 119 and is provided with a recess 22 in the lower end to receive the stem 23 of the ground anchor 24. The undersurface of the housing 11 is provided with an opening 25 aligned with the bore 17 and a collar 26 surrounding same. A vertically disposed key 27 extends substantially the width of the collar 26 on its inner surface. The key 27 is of a shape and size to conform to the configuration of the'keyway 20 of the screw 18.

A removable cover plate 28 is secured to the housing 11 by any suitable means such as by screws 29. The cover plate 23 is provided with an opening 30 to receive the drive shaft 13 and an opening 31 surrounded by a collar 32 to receive the screw 18. The collar 32 and the adjacent portion of the cover plate 28 has a vertical cut out 33 for a purpose to be disclosed hereinafter.

The housing 11 terminates at one end in an enlarged end member 34 which projects above and below the plane of the housing 11 and has an elongated open end slot35 in its upper portion which registers with the cut out 33, and tapered outer edges 36. Secured to the member 34 adjacent the undersurface of the housing 11 by any suitable means is a lug 37 which projects beyond the outer edge 36 and has a horizontal opening 38 therethrough.

The driven gear 14 as best seen in FIGS. 7 and 8 has inclined plane portions 39 with high points 49, low points 41, and flat areas 42.

The numeral 43 indicates generally the bumper clamp assembly which comprises a clamping plate 44 havin top and bottom flanges 45 with adjustable screws 46 extending through openings 47 in the top flange 45 to engage the bumper 48 of a truck or the like 49. A protruding impact member 50 is integral with clamping plate 44 and projects at right angles thereto and is of a size and shape to permit free vertical movement in the cut out 33 and the slot 35 so as to seat on the driven gear 14. Elongated slide retainers 51, 52 having inclined inner faces 53, 54 are secured by any suitable means such as by screws 55 to the clamping plate 44. Slide retainer 51 has an opening 56 therethrough of the same size and in vertical alignment with the opening 33 in the lug 37. A stop bar 57 is secured to the clamping plate i-t by any suitable means such as screws 58 adjacent to bottom portion of the slide retainers 51 and 52.

The device is assembled by first clamping the bumper clamping assembly 43 to the bumper 4.8 of a vehicle 49 by means of the adjustable screws 46. The moving assembly It is inserted from the bottom so thatthe end member .34 slides freely between the slide retainers 51 and 52. The stop bar 57 is then secured in position to prevent the moving assembly 10 from becoming disengaged. The anchor 24 and its drive rod 21 are positioned in vertical alignment with the drive screw 1% with the upper portion of the drive rod 21 seated in the socket 19. Y

To insert the anchor 24- into the ground the ratchet wrench 16 is turned in one direction to rotate the drive gear 12 and the driven gear 14. As the driven gear 14 is turned, the drive screw 1? which is kept from rotating by the key 27 mounted in the collar 26 and sliding in the key way 20 of the screw 18 advances towards the ground. As the anchor 24 and its drive rod 21 penetrate the earth, the increasing resistance causes the impact member 50 to ride on the inclined plane 39 of the driven gear 14. When the ground resistance increases, the in= .clined plane 39 pushes against the impact member 59 causing the downward movement of the moving assembly ll between the slide retainers 51 and 52 or the truck :9 is raised to the high point 40 and then dropped onto the flat area 42 to force the anchor 24 into the ground. It will be seen from an examination of FIG. 7 that there are two inclined planes 39, two flat areas 42, and two high points 46 and two low points 41. Therefore, on each 180 revolution of the driven gear 14, the impact member 56 is raised on the inclined plane 39 to the high point 40 and then dropped onto the flat area 42 to the low point 41. This procedure is repeated until the anchor is inserted to the correct depth (24" to 30").

In order to retrieve the drive rod 21 the impact member 56 is locked out by rotating the drive shaft 13 to a position where the impact member is at a high point it) on the driven gear 14. In this condition the opening 56 in the slide retainer 51 will line up with the opening 33 in the lug 37 (see dotted line position in FIG. 5) so that a pin 59 may be inserted in the openings 38 and 56 to keep the impact member 50 at its uppermost position indicated by numeral 58 in FIG. 3. This will permit the drive shaft 13 to be rotated in the opposite direction to raise the drive screw 18 and thereby retrieve the drive rod 21.

It is the understanding that the form of the invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as a preferred embodiment of same, and that various changes in the shape, size, and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of my invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

I claim:

1. The combination with a vehicle; of a ground anchor inserting device comprising a bracket detachably secured to said vehicle, an impact member integral with said bracket, a housing, means slidably securing said housing to said bracket, at least one gear in said housing, a screw extending through the upper and lower portions of said housing driven by said gear adapted to engage a ground anchor at its lower end, drive means to rotate said gear, and means provided by said gear to raise and drop said impact member and a portion of the weight of said vehicle on said housing to force said screw and anchor earthward.

2. The structure of claim 1, wherein said bracket and said housing have horizontal openings therethrough, said openings being vertically aligned, a pin extending through said openings to immobilize said impact member whereby said gear can be reversed to raise said screw from its lowered position after the anchor has been inserted in the ground.

3. The combination with a vehicle; of a ground anchor inserting device comprising a bracket detachably secured to said vehicle, an impact member integral with said bracket, a gear housing, means slidably securing said housing to said bracket, a drive gear in said housing, drive means to rotate said gear, a driven gear operated by said drive gear, a screw driven by said driven gear extending through the upper and lower portions of said housing adapted at its lower end to engage a ground anchor, and means provided by one of said gears to raise and drop said impact member and a portion of the weight of said vehicle on said housing to force said screw and anchor earthward.

4. The combination with a vehicle; of a ground anchor inserting device comprising a bracket detachably secured to said vehicle, an impact member integral with said bracket, a gear housing, means slidably securing said housing to said bracket, a drive gear in said housing, drive means to rotate said gear, a driven gear having a threaded opening therein operated by said drive gear, a screw threaded in said opening in said driven gear adapted at its lower end to engage a ground anchor, means preventing said screw from rotating when said driven gear is rotated, and means provided by said driven gear to raise and drop said impact member and a portion of the Weight of said vehicle on said housing to force said screw and anchor earthward.

5. The combination with a vehicle; of a ground anchor inserting device comprising a bracket detachably secured to said velncle, an impact member integral with said bracket, a gear housing, means slidably securing said housing to said bracket, a drive gear in said housing, drive means to rotate said gear, a driven gear having a threaded opening therein operated by said drive gear, a screw threaded in said opening in said driven gear having a longitudinal keyway therein adapted at its lower end to engage a ground anchor, a key provided by said housing seated in said keyway to prevent said screw from rotating when said driven gear is rotated, and means provided by said driven gear to raise and drop said impact member and a portion of the weight of said vehicle on said housing to force said screw and anchor earthward.

6. The combination with a vehicle, a ground anchor, and a ground anchor driving rod detachably secured thereto; of a ground anchor inserting device comprising a bracket secured to said vehicle, an impact member integral with said bracket, a gear housing, means slidably securing said housing to said bracket, a drive gear in said housing, drive means to rotate said gear, a driven gear having a threaded opening therein operated by said drive gear, a screw threaded in said opening in said driven gear having a longitudinal keyway therein adapted at its lower end to engage said drive rod, a key provided by said housing seated in said keyway to prevent said screw from rotating when said driven gear is rotated, and means provided by said driven gear to raise and drop said impact member and a portion of the weight of said vehicle on said housing to force said screw, drive rod, and anchor earthward.

7. The structure of claim 6, wherein said bracket and said housing have horizontal openings therethrough, said openings being vertically aligned, a pin extending through said openings to immobilize said impact member whereby said gears can be reversed to raise said screw and drive rod from their lowered position after the anchor has been inserted in the ground.

8. The combination with a vehicle, a ground anchor, and a ground anchor driving rod detachably secured thereto; a ground anchor inserting device comprising a bracket secured to said vehicle, an impact member intogral with said bracket, a gear housing, means slidably securing said housing to said bracket, a drive gear in said housing, a driven gear having a threaded opening therein meshing with said drive gear, said driven gear having an upper surface with a pair of inclined planes spaced apart by relatively small flat areas, said impact member riding on said upper surface of said driven gear, a screw threaded in said opening in said driven gear having a longitudinal keyway therein adapted at its lower end to engage said drive rod, a key provided by said housing seated in said keyway to prevent said screw from rotating when said driven gear is rotated, and drive means rotating said drive gear and said driven gear to raise said impact member and a portion of the weight of said vehicle on said inclined plane and drop said impact member onto a flat area on each half turn of said driven gear to force said screw, drive rod and anchor earthward.

9. The combination with a vehicle, a ground anchor, and a ground anchor driving rod detachably secured thereto; of a ground anchor inserting device comprising a bracket having an opening therethrough secured to said vehicle, an impact member integral with said bracket, a gear housing, a lug carried by said housing having an opening therethrough, means slidably securing said housing to said bracket, a drive gear in said housing, a driven gear having a threaded opening therein meshing with said drive gear, said driven gear having an upper surface with a pair of inclined planes spaced apart by relatively small flat areas, said impact member riding on said upper surface of said driven gear, a screw threaded in said opening in said driven gear having a longitudinal keyway therein adapted at its lower end to engage said drive rod, a key provided by said housing seated in said keyway to prevent said screw from rotating when said driven gear is rotated, drive means rotating said drive gear and said driven gear to raise said impact member and a portion of the weight of said vehicle on said inclined plane and drop said impact member onto a fiat area on each half turn of said driven gear to force said screw, drive rod and anchor earthward, said opening in said bracket and said opening in said lug being aligned when the impact member reaches the uppermost portion of the inclined plane, and a pin References Qited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 694,823 Binnie Mar. 4, 1902 1,125,018 Gudmond-Hoyer Jan. 12, 1915 1,287,377 Maggs Dec. 10, 1918 2,403,041 Beyerink July 2, 1946 

1. THE COMBINATION WITH A VEHICLE; OF A GROUND ANCHOR INSERTING DEVICE COMPRISING A BRACKET DETACHABLY SECURED TO SAID VEHICLE, AN IMPACT MEMBER INTEGRAL WITH SAID BRACKET, A HOUSING, MEANS SLIDABLY SECURING SAID HOUSING TO SAID BRACKET, AT LEAST ONE GEAR IN SAID HOUSING, A SCREW EXTENDING THROUGH THE UPPER AND LOWER PORTIONS OF SAID HOUSING DRIVEN BY SAID GEAR ADAPTED TO ENGAGE A GROUND ANCHOR AT ITS LOWER END, DRIVE MEANS TO ROTATE SAID GEAR, AND MEANS PROVIDED BY SAID GEAR TO RAISE AND DROP SAID IMPACT MEMBER AND A PORTION OF THE WEIGHT OF SAID VEHICLE ON SAID HOUSING TO FORCE SAID SCREW AND ANCHOR EARTHWARD. 